MONDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2010


KLMNO COLLEGE BASKETBALL


U-Md. women pull away for home victory 81 65


By shoring up exterior defense, Terps move to 7-1


BY GENEWANG Late inthe secondhalf ofMary-


land’s 81-65 victory on Sunday af- ternoon, Terrapins forward Dian- dra Tchatchouang spotted Appa- lachian State’s Anna Freeman squaring up for a three-pointer on the left wing. Long-range shots had given No. 22Maryland fits in the first half, so Tchatchouang raced out with her hand high to defendthe attempt. Theball eventually sailedoutof


bounds after Tchatchouang’s block, and although the Moun- taineers kept possession, it was the most demonstrative indica- tionofMaryland’s commitment to curbing three-pointers. That tac- tic in zone sets coupled with a continuedattackmodeinsidecon- tributed to the Terrapins’ 21-point lead with 9minutes 21 seconds to play and enabled them to win their sixthstraightdespite ananx- iousmoment or two in the closing


MARYLAND APPALACHIANST. So did Maryland’s size advan-


minutes atComcastCenter. Tchatchouang scored a game-


high 17 points and added seven rebounds and two assists, and cen- ter Lynetta Kizer finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds for Mary- land (7-1), which limited Appala- chian State to 35 percent shooting, including3for 14onthree-pointers in the second half. TheMountain- eers had made 5 of 9 from that distance inthe firsthalfandtrailed by onepoint at intermission. “I thought [itwas]amuchbetter


second half for us,” Maryland Coach Brenda Frese said. “But I think obviously Appalachian State camereadytoplay.Wetalkedtothe team even before this game that this was a dangerous game. I was really impressedwithAppalachian State on film, their stats and the success they’ve had, but I thought our energy and intensity level real- ly picked up. I thought the zone defense in the second half really gave themproblems.”


tage. The Terrapins outpointed AppalachianStateinside54-18, in- cluding 13 more second-chance points. Maryland also dominated in rebounding, 50-37, and collect- edsevenmoreoffensivelythanthe Mountaineers (6-2). The second-half resurgence


was that much more noteworthy considering the absence of fresh- man sensation Alyssa Thomas, who had a deep cut on her left knee that forced her to the locker roomwith 2:35 to play before the break after she had scored 13 points. Thomas sat on the bench during the second halfwith an ice pack around her knee but is ex- pectedto be fine. Freshman Alicia DeVaughn


grabbed 13 rebounds, tying a game high, and scored nine points, and sophomore forward Tianna Hawk- ins chipped in nine points on 4- for-6 shooting to go along with six rebounds in16minutes.Maryland’s robustplayinthepaintedareamore thanmadeupfor its 1-for-10perfor- mance from three-point range. It’s the second consecutive game and fourth time this season the Terra- pins have shot 10 percent or worse


NATIONALWOMEN


fromthatdistance. Forward Ashlen Dewart and


guard Sam Ramirez led Appala- chian State with 15 points each, although they went 5 for 15 from three-point range.Ramirezmade3 of 5 three-pointers in the first half, getting open looks several times, but only 1 of 6 in the second half. Maryland regulated those chances in the second half by applying more pressure on the perimeter and by getting hands on the ball withmuchgreater frequency. That attention to defense trig-


gered several second-half runs, in- cludinga12-1burst thatproduceda 68-47 lead with less than 10 min- utes to play. Appalachian State cut it to 70-57 after Freeman’s three- pointerwith 4:18 to go and then to 76-65with1:37toplayafterconsec- utive three-pointers fromRamirez and Freeman. The Terrapins clamped down defensively again fromthere, though,andmade5of6 foul shots for the finalmargin. “Everybodycanshoot the three,”


Tchatchouang said ofAppalachian State. “So we had to adjust the defense, and I think we did a very goodjob inthe secondhalf.” wangg@washpost.com


Cavs can identify with victory


Scott scores 21 points to help Virginia earn second big win of week


BY MARK GIANNOTTO


blacksburg, va. — Logic says that eight games into a season, a teamthat returnedits entire start- ing lineup from a year ago would have a much better grip on itself than one that features five fresh- menanda sophomore. ButSundaynightatCassellCol- iseum, Virginia showed just how


VIRGINIA VIRGINIA TECH 57 54


little experience matters some- times if you’ve got an identity, scoring a 57-54 victory over rival Virginia Tech in both teams’ ACC opener. It was the Cavaliers’ second


straightwin—and first in Blacks- burg since 2006 — and came just sixdays afterVirginiaupsetNo. 15 Minnesota in Minneapolis. The Hokies,meanwhile,droppedtheir third straight contest and find themselves with a .500 record af- ter many preseason accolades were throwntheirway. Virginia (5-3) jumped out to a


36-24 halftime lead before some heady plays down the stretch and its slow-paced, half-court style warded off a second-half come- back by theHokies (4-4). Forward Mike Scott finishedwith 21 points and a game-high 13 rebounds to pace the Cavaliers. He had 13 points inthe firsthalf. “I tellourguys,goodbasketball,


it doesn’t matter age,” Virginia Coach Tony Bennett said. “When you tap into it and understand who you are as a team, and I think our team is beginning to under- stand that more, you’ll have a chance to compete.” Virginia Tech had a chance to


win late. TheHokies closed to two when forward Victor Davila hit a layup with 20 seconds remaining in the game. But on the ensuing inboundsplay, Scottbroke free for a home run pass and Virginia Tech’s Jeff Allen (12 points, nine rebounds) intentionally fouled himbeforehe couldget a shotup. Virginia responded by making


four straight freethrows.ButHok- ies guardMalcolmDelaneynailed


MATT GENTRY/ASSOCIATED PRESS Things continue to look up for Virginia and Jontel Evans, shown here battling theHokies’ Jeff Allen.


a quick three to make the score 57-54 andtheCavaliers’ JoeHarris (10points)missedthe front endof a one-and-one. Scott, however, came down with the offensive re- bound. He, too, missed a free throw. ButVirginiaTechseniorDoren-


zo Hudsonmissed badly on a last ditch three-pointer that would have tied the game as time ex- pired. Afterward, theHokieswereleft


to lament a porous first half that sawthemshoot 33.3 percent from the field. It proved to be too big a hole, especially now that Virginia Tech has gone four gameswithout scoring more than 30 points in a half. Similar to past defeats, players


and coaches alike blamed the loss on “little things” like failed box- outs and not coming out with loose balls. Ultimately, though, it


was a lack of urgency at the start thatdoomedthem. “There’snowaywe shouldhave


carried ourselves likewe did com- ing out,” said Delaney, who re- bounded from a 2-for-18 showing against Purdue lastWednesday to score a game-high 26 points. “Es- pecially this being our first ACC game and a home game, we’ve never come out that flat. . . . We didn’t come out likewewanted to win. We don’t play like we’re a good team, we’re just playing like we’re a normal team. We got tal- ent.We’ve been working too hard forus to beplaying like this.” It was guile, more than hard


work or talent,whichprovedtobe the Cavaliers’ elixir on this night. Even though it shot just 36.4 per- cent from the field in the second half, Virginia outrebounded the Hokies, committed fewer turn- overs andhadmore assists.


Perhaps most importantly, the


Cavaliers controlled the tempo and had a dominant interior pres- ence inScott. “MikeScottbasicallykickedour


tail in the first half, and then he came up with the two big plays down the stretch,” Virginia Tech Coach Seth Greenberg said. “We just didn’t give him very much resistance.” Greenberg and theHokies have


almost a week until their next game against Penn State, an op- portunity to hopefully find the chemistrythat ledthemto25wins a year ago. Virginia has no such worries.With two program-defin- ing wins in a row, the Cavaliers have shown exactly what style they’ll rely onthis year. giannottom@washpost.com


Staffwriter Steve Yanda contributed to this report.


COLLEGE FOOTBALL


Home for the holidays: Terps selected by the Military Bowl Maryland to play


E. Carolina after being passed over by others


BY ERIC PRISBELL One bowl game after another


passed on Maryland and its feel- good turnaround narrative, caus- ing the Terrapins to free fall in Sunday’s bowl selection process until they were embraced by the only game that truly wanted them: theMilitary Bowl. A matchup betweenMaryland


and East Carolina (6-6) at RFK Stadium on Dec. 29 is a coup for the third-year bowl looking to maximize local appeal. But it looms as a disappointment for Maryland players — and fans alike — who were hoping for a


warm-weather locale and a high- profile opponent to punctuate a season in which the Terrapins (8-4, 5-3 ACC) posted the nation’s second-biggest turnaround. In a teleconference, Coach


Ralph Friedgen, who had felt his team was deserving of an upper- tier bowl, praised the Military Bowl but said the situation “is what it is. We have to make the best of it. The toughest thing is that it’s in our own backyard.” Kevin Anderson, Maryland’s


first-year athletic director, said he was “disappointed” with the process and how bowl berths were determined. Anderson said he did not know why Maryland slid to the eighth slot. He added thatMaryland officials have spo- ken to the ACC office and Ander- son wants to talk to conference officials further about the pro- cess at future leaguemeetings.


Despite finishing in a three-


way tie for third in the ACC — with North Carolina State (8-4, 5-3) andMiami (7-5, 5-3)—Mary- land dropped to eighth in the ACC bowl pecking order. This was an indictment ofMaryland’s diminished fan base,which filled Byrd Stadium to 75 percent ca- pacity only once this season. A significant factor in the bowl


selection process is the expecta- tion that a team’s fan base will travel well. Other bowl games were able to select other teams because of a rule that allows a team to be picked as long as it is not more than one conference game behind another available team. As a result, four teams with


worse overall records thanMary- land — Miami, Clemson (6-6), North Carolina (7-5) and Georgia Tech (6-6)—were selected ahead


of the Terrapins. And N.C. State, which Maryland beat, 38-31, in the regular season finale, was picked ahead of the Terps aswell. At the top of the ACC’s pecking


order is Virginia Tech, which earned a berth in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 3with a victory over Florida State in the ACC champi- onship on Saturday. The Hokies (11-2) are expected to play Stan- ford (11-1). Maryland’s long-shot hopes of


playing in an upper-tier bowl dissolved late Saturday night in — of all places — Tampa, where Connecticut earned the Big East title with a last-minute victory over South Florida. That cleared the way for the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Fla., to select WestVirginia (9-3), thusblocking Maryland’s slim chances of land- ing there because bowls try to avoid regular season rematches.


The Military Bowl is the best


option forMaryland strictly from a financial standpoint. The school stood to lose money on every other bowl game possibili- ty. And after falling more than $500,000 short of season ticket sales projections in each of the past two seasons, Maryland now can avoid spending money on one or two charter flights for the bowl game. Players will still stay in a team hotel, perhaps for as long as seven nights. Maryland officials have anoth-


er challenge: Getting fans fired up for a weekday game 10 miles from campus against a Confer- ence USA team. The gamewill be televised live on ESPN at 2:30 p.m. There is some concern that Maryland won’t meet the 10,000 ticket allotment requirement be- cause fansmay feel playing in the Military Bowl is a letdown.


Ga. Tech has big win over Georgia


Drought against ranked teams ends for Yellow Jackets


ASSOCIATED PRESS Freshman TyaunnaMarshall


scored 20 points, Metra Wal- thour provided a spark at point guard and Georgia Tech knocked off a ranked team on its fourth try as it pulled away from No. 21 Georgia, 69-53, on Sunday in Atlanta. The Yellow Jackets (7-4) had


lost to No. 1 Connecticut, No. 9 Tennessee and No. 12 George- town. But they took control against Georgia (6-2) with a 13-3 run shortly after the break and finished with their biggest win in the series. “We started out playing some


of the toughest teams in the country,” Georgia Tech Coach MaChelle Joseph said. “Before, Georgia had always been our biggest game to date when we played them.” Georgia Tech made five


straight shots from the field — all layups or close in — and knocked down three free throws to stretch a 37-36 lead to 50-39 with just over 13minutes remaining. l MICHIGAN STATE 71, TEX-


AS 57: Lykendra Johnson and Kalisha Keane had 20 points apiece to help the 25th-ranked Spartans defeat the 17th- ranked Longhorns. Johnson also had 11 re-


bounds as Michigan State (7-1) knocked off a top-20 opponent for the second time in five days. Kathleen Nash led Texas (4-2) with 17 points. l NOTRE DAME 72, PUR-


DUE 51:NatalieNovosel scored 16 points and the No. 16 Fight- ing Irish celebrated the 1,000th game in school history with a home win. Notre Dame (7-3) forced 24


turnovers. Purdue (6-2) strug- gled all day. “We didn’t execute anything—nothing.Every time I drew something up it didn’t work,” Purdue Coach Sharon Versyp said. l LOUISVILLE 78, KEN-


TUCKY 52: Freshman guard Shoni Schimmel poured in a season-high 26 points and the Cardinals rolled past the eighth-rankedWildcats. Becky Burke added 21 points


and Louisville (6-3) held the Wildcats to 29-percent shoot- ing to avenge a 34-point loss to their rival a year ago. Louisville turned it over a school-record 38 times in that game. l IOWA 68, KANSAS STATE


62: Jaime Printy scored 20 points to lead the Hawkeyes at home. Taelor Karr’s three- pointer with 4 minutes 52 sec- onds remaining in the first half launched Kansas State (6-1) on a 16-point scoring drive. Kach Alexander ended the streak by hitting two free throws, andNo. 18 Iowa (8-1) managed to stay within 29-25 at intermission. l XAVIER 69, CINCINNATI


61: The Musketeers (8-0), ranked No. 4, continued their best start. AmberHarris had 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead visitingXavier over their neigh- borhood rivals. “Both teams played really hard,” Xavier Coach KevinMcGuff said. l IOWA STATE 60, MICHI-


GAN 47: Kelsey Bolte scored 20 points and the 19th-ranked Cy- clones survived a poor shooting day at home. Iowa State (6-1) shot only 32 percent, but Jessi-


ca Schroll and Chelsea Poppens came up with some key offen- sive rebounds in the second half and the Cyclones hit five three-pointers late. Veronica Hicks and Rachel Sheffer led Michigan (4-4) with 10 points each. l TENNESSEE 74, OLD DO- Freshman


MINION 44:


Meighan Simmons scored 14 points and the Lady Vols, ranked No. 9, closed the first half with a full-court press that fueled a 30-14 run. Tennessee (8-1) led 40-22 at


halftime after holding Old Do- minion (3-3) almost 3 minutes without a basket during its big run. The Lady Monarchs opened the second half with more energy but still struggled fromthe field. l BAYLOR 103,MINNESOTA


56: Brittney Griner scored 22 points, her sixth consecutive 20-point game, as the second- ranked Lady Bears (9-1) rolled to a homewin over theGophers (5-4). Griner, the 6-foot-8 pre- season All-American, also had six rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Baylor and Minnesota met


for the first time since playing in the NCAA round of 16 in 2005. The Lady Bears won that game on their way to the na- tional championship. Kimetria Hayden added 17


points for Baylor. Leah Cotton ledMinnesota with 20 points. Baylor is 9-0 at home, includ-


ing the last six games since its one-point loss at top-ranked U-Conn. The Lady Bears have won42 ina rowathome against non-conference teams dating from2006. The Lady Bears now have an


extended break between games because of exams. They play next Dec. 14 against ninth- ranked Tennessee, the last of seven straight home games. l CONNECTICUT 86, SA-


CRED HEART 32: Maya Moore scored 17 points to become the school’s career scoring leader and the top-ranked Huskies (8-0) won their 86th consecu- tive game. Moore hit 8 of 9 shots while


playing just 21 minutes. Her 2,355 career points break the record of 2,346 set by Tina Charles last season. l INDIANA 67, NEBRASKA


61: Jori Davis scored 21 points and Hope Elam added 14 to help the Hoosiers (5-3) upset the 24th-ranked Huskers (6-1) in Bloomington, Ind. The loss ended Nebraska’s 37-game reg- ular season winning streak. There were 12 lead changes


in the second half, the last coming with 1:14 remaining. l UCLA 54, MONTANA


STATE 44: Rebekah Gardner scored 14 points as the Bruins (7-0), ranked No. 13, won at home. The Bobcats (2-7) put together a 7-0 run to trim UCLA’s lead to 46-40. l OHIO STATE 95, OKLAHO-


MA 84: Jantel Lavender scored 32 points, Samantha Prahalis had 15 points and a career-high 15 assists and the sixth-ranked Buckeyes won the battle of ranked teams. Ohio State (7-0) pulled away down the stretch against the 11th-ranked Soon- ers (7-1). It was Jim Foster’s 1,000th game as a head coach; he is 723-277 in 32 seasons. l DENVER 70, VANDERBILT


65: Brianna Culberson had 22 points and seven rebounds as the host Pioneers (4-4) upset the 23rd-ranked Commodores (4-3). Jence Rhoads scored 19 points for Vanderbilt.


EZ SU


D5


Some Maryland players, in-


cluding defensive lineman Drew Gloster, had said they felt Mary- land would avoid playing in the Military Bowl because of theN.C. State victory. As it turned out, according to bowl executives and officials throughout the ACC, that outcome proved irrelevant toMaryland’s bowl fate. “Evidently that win wasn’t


good enough,” Anderson said. “Next time we will have to win more games to play in the [ACC] championship,” where teams are protected fromfalling lower than the fourth pick. Terrapins note: James Frank-


lin, Maryland’s offensive coordi- nator and head coach in waiting, has emerged as a candidate for Vanderbilt’s head coaching open- ing, a source close to Franklin said.


prisbelle@washpost.com


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